by Jason Jia
Intriguing legends about purple clay have been passed on the lips of Chinese tea lovers over time. Through these stories, we get clues about the start of purple clay tea ware and the status a good purple clay teapot may give its owner.
A mysterious monk, the father of purple clay
A long time ago in a small town named Yixing in southeastern China, the local villagers farmed every day. On their spare time, they made bowls and jugs for daily use. In this way, they led a simple and ordinary life.
One day out of nowhere, an eccentric monk appeared. He went about and exclaimed, “Profitable clay! Profitable clay!” “What is he getting at?” the villagers wondered, and looked at the monk in confusion. The monk went on to cry, “You people can be rich!” The villagers thought he must be crazy. After a little, the monk stopped shouting and began to run away.
A judicious old man realized there must be something behind the monk’s words, so he darted after the monk. Before long, they arrived at Yellow Dragon Mountain, but the monk vanished from view. The old man tried his best to catch sight of the monk again, but he saw nothing except several caves he never noticed before. He looked into the caves, and wow! There was colorful clay everywhere!
At this moment, the man suddenly saw the light: This must be the so-called ‘lucrative clay’! So he carried some of it away and attempted to craft some pottery. When his work was done, he just couldn’t believe what he saw. They presented distinctive colors unlike any he had ever seen before. He excitedly presented his creations to the locals, and they were amazed as well. As most of the items were purple, they gave a name ‘purple clay’ to the unusual material.
A pauper with his only purple clay teapot
Once upon a time, there was a rich man who particularly enjoyed drinking tea. No matter who came to his home for tea, rich or poor, he would treat them well.
On one occasion, a pauper turned up. He asked for nothing but a cup of tea. A servant prepared one and passed to him. The pauper glanced at the tea, and complained that it was not very tasty.
The servant realized that the beggar knew something about tea, so he promptly changed it to another kind of leaves. The beggar smelled it, and said, “This tea is good, but the water is not good. Only spring water from the mountains is suitable.”
The servant perceived this guy was not a common beggar, so he brewed another cup of tea at once with their well-reserved spring water. The beggar took a sip, and said, “This water is good, but the firewood is not good. Firewood gathered from this side of the mountain is inferior. The wood from the other side of the mountain is compact and hard, which is indispensable for brewing the best tea.” The servant then hurried to fetch the best firewood, made tea once more, and asked his master to join them.
After exchanging a few words, the landlord asked his guest to taste tea again. The panhandler drank a small mouthful of tea, and then made a comment, “Now this tea is pretty good. You used the best tea leaves, mountain spring, and firewood. However, the teapot is not good enough.” “To tell you the truth, this is the best pot I have,” the landlord responded.
Then, the pauper pulled out an elegant purple clay teapot shining with natural gloss, and told the servant, “Please brew again with this pot.” Guess what? The tea turned out to be perfectly good this time! The rich man hungered for this pot so much that he offered at once to buy it.
The beggar hastened to empty his pot, put it away, and intended to leave. The rich man stopped him right away, and exclaimed, “I’d like to pay half of my family possessions for your pot!” With no response, the beggar just wanted to move away. The rich man was so eager that he raised his voice again, “Ok, I’d like to give you all of my family possessions for your pot!” This time, the beggar laughed, and replied, “I wouldn’t have been so poor to this extent today if I was willing to part with this pot.”
A purple clay teapot more valuable than life?
Once in China, a local administrator cared for purple clay teapots more than anything else. In his collection, he especially cherished an outstanding pot made by the most prominent potter at that time.
One day at tea time, a maid accidentally dropped and broke the precious pot as she served the official. The official flew into rage, and he demanded the maid compensate for his pot with her life.
When the artist learned about that, he decided to save the maid as quickly as possible. He rushed to the local official’s residence, carrying a dozen of his choice, handmade teapots. He proposed to the official, “You may choose any one of the most elaborate teapots I have made if you release the maid.”
The official was thrilled with the offer. He chose the one that was the most appealing to him, and then let the maid go.
After that, however, the magistrate said, “Could you sell the other teapots to me as well?” The master potter didn’t reply, but with a sweep of his shoulder pole broke all the remaining pots into pieces.
Shocked, the official was at a loss for a minute. Then he asked in confusion, “What did you do that for?” Calmly and firmly the artisan replied, “I smashed them at the cost of no life.
About the Author:
Specialist J. Jia has studied Chinese pottery, paintings, and other art including
Chinese teapots for most of his life. From time to time, he endorses the work of certain potters. View some fine
Yixing teapots here.
Tags: Art, China, chinese, pottery, purple clay, Tea, tea pots, teaware
